Walmart Rewards Mastercard Review: No Longer Available

High ongoing rewards

Walmart sells almost anything you can think of, so if you don't mind doing most of your shopping online, you could earn 5% on almost everything you buy, including groceries via pickup or delivery. Even if browsing a brick-and-mortar Walmart is more your speed, you'll still get double rewards when you shop there. Bonus rewards are also possible on gas if you fill up at a Walmart fuel station, which includes Murphy USA stations. Outside of the Walmart umbrella, dining and travel snag you elevated rewards, too. In short, it's a solid everyday credit card.

Redemption flexibility

The only thing better than earning rewards is redeeming them, and the Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® makes it easy to put your earnings to good use. There's no minimum redemption amount, and you have a plethora of choices for using your points. Options include applying them as a statement credit; booking for travel through Capital One's travel portal; or buying select gift cards available through the Capital One rewards redemption center. No matter how you use your points, they'll always be worth a penny each, and they'll never expire as long as your account is open and in good standing. (Note that literal cash back is not an option as a deposit to a checking or savings account, even if you bank with Capital One.)

Travels well

Since it's a Mastercard, you'll enjoy wide acceptance both at home and abroad. The card's lack of foreign transaction fees combined with the aforementioned travel protections and benefits make it a worthy traveling companion.

You have to track your rewards categories

Credit cards that offer different rewards rates in different areas of spending require some mental calisthenics. If you find it too cumbersome to manage such rewards tiers, a good alternative is a card that earns the same flat rate back on all of your spending. One option is the Citi Double Cash® Card, which earns the same rate on everything you purchase, whether in-person or online. With this card, you'll get 2% cash back: 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay your bill.

Rewards on in-store shopping are limited

For a co-branded card, 2% back on in-store Walmart purchases isn't exactly jaw-dropping. It's true that there's a way to earn 5% back on in-store purchases in the first year you have the card, but it's a temporary promotion that requires a specific payment method. If you prefer to do your shopping inside Walmart's brick-and-mortar stores, you'd do just as well after Year One with the Citi Double Cash® Card. Or if you're willing to put in a little extra work for extra rewards, consider the Discover it® Cash Back. It earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined spending per quarter in rotating bonus categories that you activate and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Previous bonus categories have included things like restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets and, yes, Walmart.com. The annual fee is $0, and it offers a unique bonus, which Discover phrases this way: "INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.

There's no free shipping perk

Walmart.com itself advertises free shipping, but only on purchases of $35 or more. Other store cards, like the Target Circle™ Credit Card, offer free shipping to cardholders on all eligible items, no minimum purchase required. The Target Circle™ Credit Card also gives you the savings upfront, applying a 5% discount on eligible Target spending immediately at checkout, so you don’t need to keep track of how many rewards you have and when you want to redeem them.

There's no 0% intro APR period

The Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® doesn't come with an introductory interest-free window on purchases or balance transfers. Most other store cards don't either, but many cash-back credit cards do. The low end of the card's ongoing APR range is in line with the industry average, but not everyone will qualify for that rate.

You'll need good to excellent credit

If you're building or mending your credit score, the Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® may not be right for you. (The store-only version of the card is attainable for those with only average credit.) For more options, see NerdWallet's list of best rated credit cards.

Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® vs. other major store cards

The rewards structure on the Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® is relatively similar to two other cards aimed at those who place an emphasis on value pricing, getting most of their shopping done at one spot, or both.

Amazon's Prime Visa earns 5% back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases; 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, plus local transit and commuting (including rideshare); and 1% back on everything else. The catch? Although the card itself has an annual fee of $0, you have to be an Amazon Prime member to apply, which costs $139 annually ($69 for students). A Prime membership comes with free shipping and all manner of unrelated perks you can't get elsewhere, but there is no such membership fee requirement for the Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard®.

» MORE: Full review of the Prime Visa